Paris 2024, the Carini-Khelif case and Elon Musk’s incendiary tweet –

The most anticipated match in Olympic boxing lasted just 36 seconds: that was enough for Angela Carini to decide to withdraw from the challenge against the hyper-androgynous Algerian Imane Khelif. And to spark a diplomatic-sporting scandal. The 25-year-old from Naples immediately took a couple of very hard blows to the face: first she stopped due to a problem with her helmet, then she decided to abandon. “It hurt like hell”, she seems to have said through her lips before crying on her knees after the verdict was read. The match had been preceded by heated controversy over the admission to the Games of the 25-year-old Algerian disqualified by the IBA federation (which is no longer part of the IOC) at the World Championships in New Delhi after some tests that revealed the presence of XY chromosomes, even if the reason was never made official due to privacy concerns. “I started to feel a strong pain in my nose, it’s not like me to give up, it’s precisely because I couldn’t do it, I said enough and ended the match”, then explained the Italian who glossed over the controversies: “I’m nobody to judge or make a decision, if this girl is here there must be a reason”. “All these controversies have given her the strength to move forward”, commented Khelif’s coach, Mohamed Chaoua.

The 25-year-old thanked the Algerian people after the match: “It’s my first victory, I hope to get the second to secure a medal and then I hope to win gold”. The Algerian federation, for its part, had denounced a smear campaign by foreign media on the eve of the match.

Absolutely

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 1, 2024

The case is international. Elon Musk on X, the social network owned by the Tesla and Space X boss, has retweeted various articles on the matter. One of these brings up Kamala Harris, who is considered a firm supporter of the participation of intersex athletes in the Games. And another in full support of Carini: “Men do not belong in women’s sports #IStandWithAngelaCarini”, reads the tweet relaunched by Musk who concludes: “Absolutely”.